More Good Audio...

I first met Anne Lamott in her wonderful memoir of her son's first year, Operating Instructions. Gee, was that really ten years ago? Yikes. She was one of the original writers for Salon.com's column, Mothers Who Think. She writes thoughtful, wry essays about anything and everything, and her latest is no exception. Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith had some pieces that made me sigh, and one that I had to listen to twice, it was so thought provoking. She reads it herself.

Petropolis

I took Petropolis home with low expectations. I thought it might be too quirky--the main character comes from a small town in Russia called Asbestos 2. This is Anya Ulinich's first novel, and it follows the life of a girl who emigrates to the US as a mail order bride. (I guess we should really change that to internet-order bride). Funny, sweet, and sad, and a window into contemporary Russian life. I couldn't put it down. There's an interview with the author here which will help explain unfamiliar references.

The Wonder Spot

Remember The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank? Her next book, The Wonder Spot was not as big a seller. Maybe it was too similar--both are about urban women of today, presented more as a series of short stories than as a novel. However, I can think of a few other authors (Elmore Leonard, William Gibson) who write more or less the same book with minor variations, and hey, I like them all. Bank reads the audio version, and she's terrific--I wish she would read other people's work! This will make you laugh out loud.

Kabul Beauty School, or Buffy, the Taliban Slayer

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil
I brought this book home and abandoned it to read other more enticing titles. Once I started it, however, I couldn't put it down. It's compelling in much the same way as Reading Lolita in Tehran, as a window into a vastly different culture where you are touched by the people you meet. Unlike the earlier book, written by an Iranian-born college professor, this is written by a hairdresser, Debbie Rodriguez, from Holland, Michigan. She goes to Afghanistan in 2002 in part to escape her own abusive, controlling ex-husband. Once there she identifies with the plight of the Afghani women in her classes, and finds much to admire in them. Read it!

The Mistress's Daughter

The audiobook version of A.M. Homes' The Mistress's Daughter is only five disks, so it's over with pretty quickly. Not that I wanted it to be over with because it was bad, but it's another painful memoir, with a twist--it's her natural parents re-entering her life who cause her the trouble. The reader is terrific, with a great voice, excellent diction, cadence, and she really pins the biologic mother. Not so great with the father, but he's a tough one--easier to visualize, perhaps. Homes' fiction is often wrenching, never easy, but quite compelling. This would make a good book club read, as one can talk so much about parent-child relationships, and the many changes in cultural attitudes towards adoption and illegitimacy.